1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulating roof structure, and more particularly to a secondary roof system for installing over an existing roof to increase the insulation value thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been common practice to construct roofs for porches, screen rooms, patios, mobile homes, storage rooms, workshops, and the like utilizing self-supportive structural roof panels of metal such as aluminum or galvanized steel. This type of roof has little or no insulation value, and the covered area will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. During hot weather, it is well known that a metal roof will actually increase the interior temperature of a building to a point higher than the ambient temperature due to the heat sink characteristics thereof. It is apparent that insulating this type of a roof will pay great dividends in providing greater comfort to workers in industrial buildings and occupants of residential structures having such metal roofs. Structures such as warehouses and the like will also benefit from insulation applied to the roof in preventing damage to stored goods which may be sensitive to temperature and humidity.
While it is possible to install conventional insulation underneath the roof, this may be an expensive approach since the inside surface of the panels acts as a ceiling. Even if this were done, it does not solve the problem of the heat sink characteristic of the metal roof.
Therefore, there is a need for a low cost, easily installed secondary roof system that can be installed directly over an existing structural panel roof and that will provide sufficient insulation to prevent or minimize gain of heat in the covered area in summer, and, for heated structures, that will prevent loss of heat through the roof in the winter.